That’s right, my limit downswing has officially ended!

Being my first big downswing in limit poker I learnt a lot from the experience, it’s not about the money (at the levels I play at the money is almost insignificant), it’s about becoming a better poker player.

The best poker players in the world are all going to go through down periods, it doesn’t matter how well you play the game it’s guaranteed that at some point you’ll hit a rough patch.

That said, I believe it’s how players handle themselves during these periods that is part of what separates good players from the great ones. I can honestly say, with hindsight, that during my downswing I didn’t always handle things exactly as I should have. There were times when I went on tilt, played too many hands, got angry at the fish and their miracle river cards and made things worse. In the end though I found my game, got stuck into it, stayed calm, concentrated and over a period of nearly 2000 hands I’m back to playing my winning game.

Does this make me a great player? No.

Does this mean I’ll never have another downswing? Of course not, in fact it’s likely (guaranteed?) that along the way I’ll have even bigger downswings.

At the end of the day it’s about experience, this was a new experience for me and I feel I’ve learnt a lot from it.

This is poker, it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. Experience counts!